Winter’s Breath – Stories Left Behind

Winter’s Breath is another one of those solo manned Atmospheric Black Metal bands from Austria, but not to be considered as one of THOSE solo manned Atmospheric Black Metal bands. Yes, there are a lot of them out there with their own spin, from Blackbraid to Mossgiver to Striborg to Leviathan, but Winter’s Breath is at least a little something different from them. While the core of the music is very much a mix of Black Metal meets Melodeath with plenty of synth, a mix of harsh and clean vocals, and some Folk elements here and there, this is far from trying to be a copy of the well-known Agalloch. Main man BL lends a lot of weight to the lyrics and song titles on ‘Stories Left Behind’ as a way of hooking in listeners. There is mystery, there is a concept, and anyone who is a fan of literature in general will probably dig this just for that. ‘Stories…’ starts things out with a typical intro- very soft and keyboard driven to lull one in and then hits with more of the Agalloch inspired Black Metal (especially with ‘At World’s End’ with the layered clean vocals) with the mid paced riffs on the ‘The Watcher.’ Not quite icy and rash Black Metal but more of that border between mid-paced Black Metal and Melodeath with hash slow snarls and also the cleans (which will also hearken back to Agalloch). The rasps from BL are at least pretty discernable and actually sound pretty relaxed, like he is trying to vomit out a story and the icy cold just makes his throat raw. His whispers, snarls, and sings his way through the album to keep things interesting, so the vocal variation is much appreciated versus some of the other Black Metal bands out there (say Moon or Xasthur for instance) who use grating painful shrieks and just shivering vocal atmosphere to lay the point across. For those who enjoy the frightening aspects of the genre, then that is perfect, but those looking for something a little less abrasive will really enjoy BL’s style.

Some tracks do get predictable like the music structure of ‘Rote Rose’ as it employs gothic tones with the riffs and keyboards in a somewhat repetitive fashion much like early Cradle of Filth- but by no means nearly as symphonic. These are the ones that might wear on the ear a bit with the vocals being pushed back a bit so the guitars and drums take the forefront. Then there are tracks like ‘Zerstorer’ that change up tactics for more of a Melodeath route that sounds more like ‘At a Loss For Words’ from Dark Tranquillity, and aside from the vocals, don’t really carry that Atmospheric Black Metal tone like the other tracks do save for perhaps in the guitar solos and are a nice surprise for the listener. Like a lot of the other tracks, the vocals do tend to get pushed back some and can be hard to hear. ‘Endless’ is the best track for atmospheric purposes as BL employs a sort of ‘throat moaning/singing’ tactic that is different from the usual cleans he does, and it is good to hear something different to vary the music rather than keyboards.

‘Stories Left Behind’ does close on another instrumental – typical again in the Atmospheric Black Metal department- but this one is a little heavier with including more thunderous drum patterns and a little bit more of a Metal tone vs. Folk. Repetitive yes, but a good dramatic outro. Ultimately, those who are looking for a Black Metal style that is a little less Folk driven with harsh tracks galore and then a somber keyboard/ acoustic interlude, and then more harshness that feels like a lush forest or a wintery landscape will find Winter’s Breath a fresh inhale. Lyrically, BL bounces between English and German, but each of the stories are pretty intriguing and a break from the typical Black Metal Satanism or ‘one with nature’ vibe that typically populates the genre. It might not be as dense and dramatic as a Dimmu Borgir album, but ‘Stories Left Behind’ is dramatic in its own way with its musical structure and worth a listen or read.